--- title: "Xiangqi Academy — Learn Chinese Chess Step by Step" description: "Learn xiangqi from zero: the rules, the pieces, opening principles, tactics and endgames — structured in order, with interactive boards and lessons at every…" url: https://xiangqimaster.com/learn source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com) license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) --- # The Xiangqi Academy A route from never having seen a xiangqi board to holding your own in a rated game. Work through it in order — each stage assumes the one before it — or jump to whatever you are missing. Everything here is free. 3 Stages 17 guides 3 Hands-on boards Stage 1 · 5 guides ## Beginner your first game The board and the pieces What the river and the palace are for How to play xiangqi Every rule, in the order you need them Check, checkmate and stalemate How games actually end Interactive Interactive lessons 17 lessons where you play the position, not read about it Where the game came from A thousand years of it, and what the sources actually say Stage 2 · 7 guides ## Intermediate start winning Opening principles What to play before you know any theory Tactical patterns The forks and discovered attacks that decide club games Your first opening The Central Cannon, and why everyone plays it Chinese chess strategy Activity, trading, and building an attack on the palace Interactive Daily puzzles Pattern recognition, a few minutes a day What the pieces are worth And the three times the numbers stop being true Common mistakes The errors that decide most club games Stage 3 · 5 guides ## Advanced study properly The repetition laws The rules that settle tournament games Endgame technique Known results, and how to steer toward them Attacking the palace How an attack is actually built How to improve What to study, in what order Interactive Analyse your games The fastest way to find your own weaknesses ## Related questions How long does it take to learn xiangqi? The rules take about ten minutes, and you can play a real game the same day. Reaching a decent club standard is a matter of months, and the usual bottleneck is tactics rather than opening knowledge. Can I learn xiangqi if I already play chess? Yes, and the transfer is mostly helpful — calculation and tactical vision carry over directly. The habits to unlearn are jumping knights, stalemate as a save, and perpetual check as a draw. All three are different here. What should a complete beginner learn first? The board and the pieces, then the two rules with no chess equivalent: [the cannon's screen](https://xiangqimaster.com/rules/how-the-cannon-moves) and [the flying general](https://xiangqimaster.com/rules/flying-general). Once those are natural, play games — you will learn faster from losing than from reading. ## Learn it on the board Everything here is easier once you have played a game. Start one now — free, and no download.